The Lemmings series has been around for decades, but it’s safe to say its transition into the modern era of video games hasn’t caused waves. Thus, a wide opening in the market appeared. The people demanded a new puzzle-like video game about guiding groups of little guys to exits and objectives. Enter Craftlings, ARIANO Games’ passion project.

Made by a solo developer who received external support after the game dropped ‘The Settlings’ as its title, this puzzle-strategy adventure wastes no time and lets the players know every level is available from the get-go. Craftlings is neither an endless game (in spite of its central village-building mechanics) nor a strict, linear experience. Refreshing and confident, it lays most of its cards on the table early on.

Beyond its immediate charm and the retro-inspired aesthetic (which has a number of very welcome modern flourishes), it’s clear developer Ariano had a strong vision and the intent to borrow just enough from Lemmings and, if you allow me the comparison, the Worms franchise. Yes, you have lots of Lemming-like creatures aimlessly walking either left or right. Yes, the game is 2D. But at its core, Craftlings leans towards strategy and building/management games, heavy on automation.

With four of the (so far) 12 levels dedicated to teaching new players the ropes of both developing a working village and leading the Craftlings to victory (they even have to fight giant monsters), there’s plenty of space for tutorials that aren’t very restrictive. Besides pointing out the basics and setting a number of simple goals, Ariano chooses “learning through experimentation” as the path forward. The bet pays off, though some early-game frustrations related to key items could’ve been squashed with extra pointers.

For example, wooden signs can force Craftlings to walk either left or right when they reach them, but a submenu (opened by clicking them) lets players filter who can or cannot pass based on their role and whether they’re busy. As the Craftlings begin to pick up items, resources, and whatnot, they also become more focused on the tasks automatically assigned to them, and thus, expert usage of wooden signs and “stop” statues becomes essential.

As resources begin to dwindle because no one’s reaching them or everyone’s too busy, you’ll spend much of your first two hours or so pausing the game (it’s basically an RTS, but different speeds can be chosen) to meticulously go through every bit of the village and every Craftling’s route to figure out what isn’t working. I applaud the choice to go with a more player-driven approach for the tutorial levels, but I could see these obtuse bits pushing the more impatient players to drop the game before it even gets into a fun groove.

You might be tempted to point out that’s part of the challenge, but you’d be wrong. The game makes its challenges and objectives abundantly clear from the get-go, and the big “automated village” layer is just a means to an end (and what allows experimentation in potential replays). Craftlings ultimately isn’t about building bustling villages (though I’ll admit it’s funny to see the little beings just move around in their daily loops); it’s about helping the settlers achieve their goals. The towns’ layouts are just a part of the puzzle, and placing everything in the right spots is a rewarding enough ordeal.

This overarching philosophy also leads to Craftlings’ biggest shortcoming, which is that it doesn’t really shake things up once you’ve gone through the early levels. The variety of level layouts (the part of it that makes me think about Worms the most) and end goals is good enough, but beyond the addition of new enemies to overcome and spells to cast at the right moments, you could say it’s old-fashioned to a fault. Regardless, its breezy pacing and non-linearity almost completely nullify any potential repetitiveness. Can’t figure out a specific level? Try out another one that might push you to learn about the power of floating crates. (This is a hint.)

What I know for sure is that seeing Craftlings fall to their doom and ascend to Heaven after producing the funniest “little freak” sound effects in recent memory hasn’t gotten old yet. As new ones respawn through a portal, you shift pieces of the massive puzzle around in hopes of getting them to pick up the damn pitchforks. Once armed, you cast a spell to lift them to the level above their heads, but a monster instantly annihilates them. Something was missing. Even in failure, Craftlings feels unlike anything else out there at the moment.

Craftlings is available today, January 15, for $14.99 on PC (Steam). No console versions have been announced at the time of writing.

CRAFTLINGS VERDICT

Craftlings successfully rediscovers genre-bending mechanics and systems to deliver a puzzle-strategy adventure that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but feels thoroughly polished and focused.

TOP GAME MOMENT

Perfectly optimizing a village layout so that no Craftling falls to their death or roams around aimlessly.

Our score

8.0

excellent

Good vs Bad

• Beautiful pixel art, which is easy to read and not overly nostalgic
• Outstanding sound FX and relaxing music add to the charm
• Generally easy to pick up and tinker with
• Good variety of objectives
• It can be enjoyed in any order and at one’s own pace
• Timers and ranks make it speedrunning-friendly out of the box
• The novelty, beyond each level’s unique challenges, can quickly wear off
• Some key items aren’t immediately intuitive and need better explainers